Couple
Makes $200,000 Combined Commitment to Northern New York
Community Foundation
News Fund and Challenge Grant Will Support Educational
Initiatives in Potsdam

Special to Newzjunky.com
Published May 30, 2012

WATERTOWN, N.Y.
— A husband
and wife who attended Potsdam Central School and maintain
ties to Northern New York have made a challenge to area
residents, organizations, businesses and Potsdam Central
School alumni to match up to $100,000 towards the recently
established Potsdam Educational Opportunities Fund.

An advisory committee for the Educational Opportunities
Fund has formed to raise resources needed to develop
activities and opportunities which enhance and enrich the
educational experience of the students of the Potsdam
Central School District. The donor’s match would be
applied to the Fund with the condition that the match
would be 1:1 for annual needs and 2:1 for
endowment-building.

“This breathes tremendous life and momentum into the
grassroots work of a very passionate group of Potsdam
Central School District residents,” said Rande S.
Richardson, executive director of the Community
Foundation. “Through this collaboration and a very
generous donor, there is a potential to provide a
meaningful source of sustainable funding for endeavors
that fall outside the normal scope of what a school could
provide. If this effort is successful, it could provide a
model of how communities can rally to make their schools
the best they can be and provide enriched learning
experiences for all students,” he said.

At the same time, the couple has made a separate $100,000
gift to establish the “Potsdam Fund for Education,”
also to be administered through the Northern New York
Community Foundation. This fund will support education
initiatives in Potsdam, including the recently formed
Potsdam Educational Opportunities Fund.

Anyone interested in discussing contributing to help meet
the $100,000 challenge gift can contact Mr. Richardson at
the Foundation office at (315) 782-7110.

Since the Northern New York Community Foundation began
providing grants and scholarships in St. Lawrence County,
approximately $1 million in new gifts and commitments have
been made by donors from that county interested in
supporting the Foundation’s efforts there.